Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Game #85 New York Mets (33-49) @ Toronto Blue Jays (40-45) - game recap


Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a go-ahead 2 run HR in the 8th to cap off the comeback as the Blue Jays defeated the Mets 8-6

Here it is JITHer's perhaps the most anticipated game of the season: the return of #19 Jose "Joey Bats" Bautista (who follows me on twitter BTW). The Blue Jays moved on from Bautista, who had been declining for a couple of seasons. For several months, Bautista could not find a uitor, but then the Atlanta Braves decided to sign him to a minor league contract. Bautista played 12 games and only got three hits in 35AB so the Braves released him. The Mets Signed him a few days later and in 35 games with the Mets, Bautista is 21-79 (.266 average; which would rank him top in this Blue Jays lineup), includiing 3 HR and 13RBI. This could be Bautista's last trip to Toronto, so I hope you enjoyed seeing him play guys. Here is today's game recap.

Game highlights

  • The Mets took an early lead in the top of the 1st as Asdrubal Cabrera smacked a 2 run HR to right; also scoring Jose Bautista
  • Marco Estrada pitching line: 0.1IP 1H 2R (both earned) 1BB 1K 12 pitches (7 for strikes)
  • The Mets doubled the lead in the top of the 2nd on a Devin Mesoraco 2 run HR to left that also scored Dominic Smith
  • The Mets added another run in the top of the 4th on a lead-off Wilmer Flores HR to center
  • The Blue Jays got on the board in the bottom of the 5th on a Curtis Granderson double that scored Russell Martin
  • The Mets got one more in the top of the 7th as Michael Conforto doubled scoring Brandon Nimmo
  • The Blue Jays got one back in the bottom of the 7th as Randal Grichuk scored on a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. ground out
  • Zack Wheeler pitching line: 6.1IP 3H 2R (both earned) 3BB 5K 107 pitches (70 for strikes)
  • Three batters later, Devon Travis scored on a wild pitch by Mets reliever Anthony Swarzak 
  • A batter later, Yangervis Solarte tied the game with a 3 run shot to right scoring Granderson and Teoscar Hernandez
  • The Blue Jays took the lead in the bottom of the 8th as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a 2 run blast into the Blue Jays bullpen, also scoring Grichuk
  • Tyler Clippard got Michael Conforto to ground into the final out for his 6th save of the season.
  • Final score: Blue Jays 8 Mets 6
My take

  • The Blue Jays received bad news early on in this one. Starter Marco Estrada had to leave the game with a suspected back injury just 4 batters into the game. He appeared to be trying  to stretch out his back between pitches. If he is forced to go on the DL, this will be three starters now out out action. It's possible the Blue Jays could adopt a similar strategy to the TB Rays and starter a reliever who pitches 1-2 innings. Or they could recall a starter from Buffalo. Or they could trade for a pitcher.
  • Jose Bautista's night: 1-2 at the plate with a single and 3 walks. In the field, he made a great catch in the 2nd inning on Russel Martin and he misplayed a single by Randal Grichuk, allowing the Blue Jays right fielder to scamper to third base on the play.
  • What a great come from behind victory tonight. Down 6-1 going into the bottom of the 7th the Blue Jays got 5 runs on 3 hits and a pair of walks culminated by a big game-tying 3 run HR by Yangervis Solarte. The Blue Jays bats struck for two more runs in the bottom of the 8th on a huge 2-run blast by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Tyler Clippard got the final out with the tying run on 1st in the 9th to preserve the victory.
  • At the end of the game, only Seunghwan Oh was left in the bullpen. If the game had gone much past the 9th, the Blue Jays likely would have been using a position player to finish the game
  • Up next, the Blue Jays and Mets wrap up this 2 game series with the Blue Jays looking to split both this series and the season series with a victory tomorrow night. Blue Jays righty Marcus Stroman is pitching against the Mets right-hander Corey Oswalt, who will be making his second career MLB start. In his first start, he received notice of the start just 3.5 hours ahead of the game.